I love Smart Trike! Cooper was lucky enough to get a Smart Trike off Santa last Christmas and we have used it almost everyday since! It is so cute seeing his Smart Trike grow with him.

When he first got it he could not touch the feet pegs and his little toes used to dangle just above them. As he has grown we have seen him reach the feet pegs, then reach the pedals and at 21 months he is starting to pedal! While I love seeing him do all of these things it is still sad to see him grow so quickly.

The Smart Trike is more than another “trike” for us. It was a great investment and has provided us with so much fun and many memories. Just looking at the Smart Trike and we remember how much he has grown and changed in the last 9 months since he unwrapped it at Christmas.

Smart Trike have just released their new All In One Trike. While I love Cooper’s Smart Trike I am so jealous these weren’t out last year! They are so cool!

Here is how the new All In One works -

Stage 1: The seat has a fabric seat cover for comfort and a handle is attached so the parent can have complete control. The safety tray attached to the front of the ALL IN ONE is convenient for parent and baby use and the rocker base allows for baby to be rocked while wheels are folded in.
Fitted for 6 months +
Stage 2: With all the same features as Stage One, but with the four crazy-wheels on the rocker base folded out, the ALL IN ONE can be used as push-along rocker.
Fitted for 6 months +
Stage 3: Remove the rocker base and the product turns into a ride-on for pushing your baby around. Use the special recliner seat to let baby take a nap.
Fitted for 6 months +
Stage 4: Now that your baby can sit independently, remove the soft seat cover for a   supportive push along ride-on. The four rubber wheels give good traction while the foot rest and stabilizers give a comfortable and safe ride.
Fitted for 10 months +
Stage 5: Once your baby is completely confident with moving around, remove the control handle, hand rest protector and special seat. The product is now ready to function as an independent ride on.
Fitted for 14 months +
Stage 6: Once your child is walking, transform the ride-on to a stylish, stable, 4-wheeled scooter by sliding the seat upright and locking in position.
Fitted for 24 months +

How cool is that? I think Santa will be carrying quiet a few new Smart Trike All In One’s this year!

A couple of months ago our fabulous Super Organiser Mum did a review on a Smart Trike she was sent Click Here to read her awesome review!

Smart Trikes are available at Target and Toys R Us and range between $199.95-$249.95.

More information can be found here – Smart Trike All In One

When I hear the word Christmas I always think of excess – excess amounts of food, presents, exhaustion and fun. The last excess is the worst … WASTE! There is so much wasted food, wrapping and packaging materials. But I am here to tell you a few easy and fun ways to recycle or reuse some of these things we would normally throw in the bin!

Tip #1: Wrapping paper!

This is probably the biggest of them all. Every Christmas we fill garbage bags full of paper after all of the presents are opened. But rather than throwing them in the recycle bin why not try these fun ways of reusing them!

- Save some for next year and make Christmas cards and tags with the kids!

- Send it to your childs daycare centre or school for art projects

- Use it during the year to fill empty spaces in mailing boxes. It look nicer than newspaper!

- Fill pillowcases with balls of scrunched wrapping paper for the kids to have fun pillow fights!

Tip #2: Wrapping paper rolls

- Keep them for next year and make your own bonbons using your left over wrapping paper as well. Buy some of the cracker snaps from a craft supplies store and make your own fun bonbons. Try including a funny story about a member of the table to be read aloud rather than jokes – “remember when …”

- Send them to your local school or daycare for crafts

- Use them for your own art projects with the kids – make suncatchers using cellophane, tap and scissors. Cut the rolls into 3 inch pieces and cut fun shapes in the sides of the roll pieces. Cut a piece of cellophane a little larger than the hole  you cut and slide it inside to cover the hole. Secure it with tape or glue. Strind 4-5 on a coat hanger and you have a fun suncatcher and an awesome school holiday art project!

Tip #3: Platters, Trays, Plastic Plates and Plastic Cutlery

When having a large number of people we all tend to go the plastic route! Easy to dispose of and cheap! But these products are really bad for the environment. If you choose to dispose of them make sure they go in the recycling bin or here are some other options.

- Send them to your local school or daycare for art projects

- Keep them and use them for future parties, picnics etc. Most “disposable” products are built to last a few uses, so use them until they give up!

- Use plates and bowls for paint trays or any other craft uses.

- Most platters from your local supermarket or deli are very durable. So reuse them to make your own platters for large gatherings or use them under plant pots!

The biggest tip on recycling is use your local freecycle www.freecycle.org list any unwanted items including your left over wrapping paper, rolls, plastic wear and packaging materials from toys. Someone may have a use for them!

Giving is the message of Christmas, so give back to the environment and reduce, reuse, recycle or freecycle!

Jen xx

It’s just over a week until Christmas and I started thinking about traditions. We didn’t have a lot of traditions in my family growing up. We all loved Christmas and enjoyed the time with family, but there is nothing that we did every year that I could call a tradition, more like routine.
When Cooper was born I knew I wanted to start traditions straight away. I wanted him to have things in his life that he could pass onto his family, something that will remind him of all the wonderful traditions we shared as a family. To start with I wanted to start him a collection of “something” after a lot of thought I decided on Swarovski crystal figurines. I had read in a magazine once that a women bought her kids new pj’s and a christmas ornament every year and gave it to them on Christmas eve. The kids would then have new pj’s to wake up in on Christmas day. So I decided to do this with my own twist.

Last year Cooper was 20 days old on Christmas day, so it is all a little bit of a blur! I do however remember he wanted to be fed as soon as my Mum put all the plates on the table for lunch! We bought Cooper his first Swarovski – the Kris Bear 2008 Christmas ornament. I really loved it because he was a December baby so a Christmas ornament seemed to fit and it has his birth year engraved on it.

This year as a tribute to our trip to Disneyland, we have chosen the 2009 limited edition Mickey Mouse. As part of the tradition we have a rule that each figurine must represent something we did or something he was interested in that year.

Traditions to me are important, I think they help future generations feel connected to the past. It makes me sad to think we don’t have any traditions, the few I feel were traditions have been lost and forgotten over time as my parents were never vigilant in keeping them alive. I really hope Cooper will look back one day at all of his Swarovski’s (that he will never be allowed to touch, hold or breath on! LOL) and be able to paint a picture of his life.

Another tradition we started was reading the book The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. I have always loved that book and I can’t wait to read it again next week.

I would love to hear about some of your fabulous traditions!

Jen xx